Her Perfect Mistake // Max Mayfield

23. Trust

"What the fuck is going on?" Bella heard Hopper's voice echo around the empty mall. The girl pulled away from the hug to locate where exactly the Chief was. He made small steps towards the group, but he wasn't alone. There was a bald man with him, along with Joyce. The three of them seemed to have a rough day, considering the bandages going around Hopper's face and the horrified look that Joyce had written on her face. Bella couldn't quite decipher the expression the other person had, but it surely wasn't one of happiness.

"El, honey, what happened?" Joyce pulled in the brunette for a hug before taking a look at the other teens. El, however didn't answer. She just stood there with blank expression on her face, doing her best not to fall due to the pain in her leg. The girl felt weak, almost as weak as when she closed the gate exactly one year ago.

Mike was the one that moved from his position in an attempt to explain the entire situation. The first thing he wanted to clear was all the blood that was painting the floor beneath El.

"The Mind Flayer, it build this monster in Hawkins, to stop Bella and El, to kill them and pave a way into our world." the boy explained, his eyes not leaving his girlfriend.

"And it almost did." Nancy added, "The one responsible for El's wound was just one tiny piece of it."

"How big is this thing?" Hopper asked as he pulled Eleven into his arms. He truly is a caring parent, one that Bella could only wish for.

Annabelle's dad used to always be there for her and her sister. However, that all changed after their mom passed away. He buried himself in work and couldn't stand being at home. He did still take care of Emma and Bella, but he couldn't look the blonde girl straight in the eyes. He said that it's because the two looked alike, but it always felt like there was something missing. Almost like her dad blamed Bella for what happened, even though she had no involvement in the accident.

"It's big." Jonathan said with thinking expression on his face, "Thirty feet at least."

"Yeah." Lucas nodded, "And it sorta destroyed your cabin, Hop. Sorry..."

Even at the loss of his home, the Chief didn't move an inch in an attempt not to put Eleven in an uncomfortable position. In fact, he held her closer and tighter than before. Seeing all this, Bella hugged Max and tried not to look at the two. It was not jealousy that was hidden beneath all this. It was pure sadness.

"Okay, so, just to be clear this..." Steve started, trying to find words to portray the creature, "this big, fleshy spider thing that hurt El, it's some kind of gigantic... weapon?"

"Yes." Nancy nodded.

"But instead of, like, screws and metal, the Mind Flayer made it's weapon... with melted people."

"Yes, exactly." Nancy confirmed again.

"Yeah, okay. J-Just making sure." Steve answered, but Bella knew he was unsure of how that could be possible. To be honest, she wasn't sure either, but upon seeing it, she knew it was real.

"Are we sure this thing is still out there, still alive?" Joyce questioned, not believing the story.

"Bella and El beat the shit out of it, but, yeah, it's still alive." Max jumped in the conversation, tightening the grip she had on Bella. The blonde girl tensed up upon hearing her name along with El's. She understood why Eleven did what she did, but she also wasn't sure if the brunette had forgiven her.

"But if we close the gate again--" Will started, but got interrupted by Max, "We cut the brain off from the body."

"And kill it." Lucas finished, "Theoretically."